YouTuber games rarely go well, and with massive failures like the unreleased Yogscast game or boring mobile games like Pewdiepie’s Tuber Simulator, it’s hard to have faith in your favorite content creators to make quality titles. That said, there is some hope, and unsurprisingly, it’s in the space of Game Development on YouTube.
For around 3 years now, Mark Brown ofGame Maker’s Toolkithas been consistently posting dev logs of a little game he’s been making calledMind Over Magnet.Mark had been known almost exclusively for making videos on game design without actually being a game designer, so this shift to becoming one just made sense.
As someone who’s also made a vaguelyGMTK-associated puzzle platformer about a small robot, it’s very clear from playing Mind Over Magnet that Mark has been absorbing every single lesson he teaches. That absolute knowledge of game design can lead to formula-driven games that don’t try anything new, however.
While a simple puzzle game that plays everything by the books might be fun, the best games in any genre do more to stick out and feel fun than just follow the fundamentals.
And here, we’re going to find out if Mind Over Magnet has the style and substance to float above the rest, or if it’s going to be best remembered as a perfectly safe, fine game from a good YouTube channel.
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Not Too Polarizing
The gameplay of Mind Over Magnet, overall, feels like every mechanic has been through a few hundred iterations, and while that makes everything fun, it does mean it feels a bit safe.
If you’re looking forthe most innovative and mind-blowing puzzlegame out there, this isn’t that, but it’s a quality game regardless.
It follows the very general gameplay premise of picking up and putting down a magnet to open up a path for your little robot, and stretches that premise in every possible way.
It’s varied with different magnets and a bunch of different obstacles that make you use your brain quite a bit more than I was expecting.
This game is challenging at times, and I don’t mean because I was too stupid to figure out the solution in a few levels. There are quite a few points where you have to activate a timer, and have to do something like throw your magnet up onto a ledge, and quickly make it out the door before it closes.
These timing elements usually only give a second or two of leniency, but I have a lot of time for a game that doesn’t pull any punches.
Most puzzle games of this variety tend to be pure knowledge checks, asking you to figure out the solution and then promptly hands you the win for free.
Mind Over Magnet does that quite a bit still, but those timing-based elements really spiced up the game on top of enhancing the puzzling gameplay, and reminded me a little ofPortal’sknowledge-first, execution second.
Setting A New Bar
The new magnets and mechanisms introduced every few levels serve to keep the game always feeling fresh and it never runs the risk of running out of ideas.
Not a single level in this game feels ill-placed or like it’s filler, and everything serves to either teach you a new concept or really test your knowledge, which stumped me quite often.
It’s all great fun, and mostly went without a hitch, at least until the second magnet that you can throw got involved. This makes all the puzzles infinitely more complex, as you can now throw a magnet in any direction you desire, which is an incredibly fun game mechanic, but not always as intuitive as I’d like.
Throwing led to some janky physics interactions and puzzle solutions that I thought should work, but the game decided randomly that it wouldn’t work and would work on another attempt where I did the same things.
It still feels like a more than worthy inclusion, given how fun it ends up being, but having an invisible guiding hand to help reduce frustration would be much appreciated.
Not a single level in this game feels ill-placed or like it’s filler, and everything serves to either teach you a new concept or really test your knowledge…
Aside from that hitch, though, I absolutely loved lasers, the polarity shifting mechanic, and the few levels where we got to use both magnets in tandem.
I wouldn’t have minded a few more levels near the end where I would be tested on all my knowledge and even more on my execution, but the game was pretty satisfying nonetheless.
Simple But Effective
The overall style feels a bit more basic than the substance on display. While gameplay obviously comes first, I do enjoy games with utterly fascinating and unique visuals, and Mind Over Magnet’s visual style is serviceable and good for the gameplay, but not stunning.
Everything is drawn with very simple shapes and thick outlines, which helps make it all visually distinct when the camera zooms out and makes you feel tiny.
The backgrounds are all very simplistic, monotone, and moving collages of shapes that form gears, conveyor belts, fires, and incredibly detailed cranes, which look slick.
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It’s all pleasant to look at and very safe, but it’s never going to amaze you with something you’ve never seen before.
That said, I’d rather it was this functional and designed almost entirely to serve the gameplay than be flashy for the sake of it, as this game chooses function over all else.
That said, the color palettes chosen for the levels all look lovely and are very nicely complimented by the music, which is a treat in its own right.
It’s got a few very flavorful and rhythmic bops that keep you engaged with the game and using your brain, while never taking a backseat, meaning you’ll be entranced in and fall in love with the melodies in no time.
It’s a lovely time aesthetically, and it’ll never dip into unsafe territory or sacrifice readability, which is great, if a little bit uninteresting at times.
It’s good art, objectively, though if you’re looking for something with a lot of flavor, at least the soundtrack will keep you wanting more.
An Attractive Premise
Mind Over Magnet’s story is quite simple, and in my opinion, it’s very good for the short runtime and the appealing, cartoonish character designs it’s written around.
It mostly only comes about during the few cutscenes that stop to say a few lines of dialogue, then gets right back into gameplay. They’re entertaining and got a chuckle or two out of me.
I will say, though, especially since the silly magnets all know each other at the point we find them in the story, and we really see hardly any of the factory, it does leave me yearning for more.
I can’t help it. I find a world with magnets experiencing inequality and robots becoming useless due to their free will incredibly interesting. And if you need a writer, all I’m saying is my DMs are open.
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For what it is, though, I can’t fault it. It’s a simplistic story that you’ll find fun, and it carries the momentum of the game till the very end, which is all you can ask for in a game like this.
It feels like a sitcom in the best way possible, and putting characters in an overwhelmingly negative environment just for them all to stay positive through and through is great.
A Small Field
If you’re just playing Mind Over Magnet to run through the game once, you’ll only have about two hours of playtime, depending on how long it takes you to figure out the puzzles.
This is pretty short, and is further shortened by a lack of content to replay for, with no collectibles or reason to go back more than twice.
You will want to go back a second time, though, as you unlock an alternate mode that incentivizes playing through the entire game again for some extra juice to squeeze out of the game.
I don’t want to elaborate, as this feature seems tailor-made for long-time fans of GMTK, and I’d hate to spoil that surprise, but you’re still maxing out at about 3–4 hours.
For $10, I’d say that’s still more than justified for a game this fun, polished, and solid overall, but I can see the short length being a sticking point, so it felt right to mention it.
Overall, I think the amount of content on offer is a bit more brief than other puzzle games, but it’s all killer and no filler, which I prefer to a game that gets boring a few minutes in, but goes on for 10 hours.
Closing Thoughts: It won’t blow your socks off, but Mind Over Magnet will at least loosen your legwear with its incredible understanding of game design fundementals, a magnet gimmick that feels fresh, solid visuals that serve the gameplay perfectly, and music that I could listen to for hours. It won’t last you too long, and it doesn’t try to do anything super out of the ordinary, but it’s a short and sweet game that hits a home run for every ball it’s batting at.
